The Transfer Tavern

Karanka must succeed where Warburton failed and bring £1.13m-rated lynchpin to Nottingham Forest

The Nottingham Forest fans here in the Transfer Tavern are hoping for a better time of things next year. Indeed, with Aitor Karanka at the helm, our resident Reds are eager to see the club continue to embark on some of their earlier season momentum, with a colossal slip-up this time.

With that in mind, attentions are already being turned towards potential summer targets. Karanka has a strong pedigree and a club the size of Forest should be able to attract fairly big names, depending on the right kind of investment.

To that end, they could do a lot worse than returning for Hibernian’s John McGinn. The Scotland international was strongly linked with a move to the City Ground during Mark Warburton’s brief reign in charge of the club though ultimately stayed in Edinburgh, where he has continued to develop.

The former St. Mirren midfielder is arguably the best midfielder in the Scottish Premiership and has been touted by many of our punters as a long-term successor to Scott Brown for the national team. McGinn’s strength lies in his ability to pick up the ball from deep, shield away from ensuing midfield traffic before driving forward and picking a pass in the final third.

While doubters will obviously say the Scottish league doesn’t properly test players, the likes of Victor Wanyama and Virgil van Dijk prove otherwise. Clearly, no one is expecting McGinn – who is valued at just £1.13m by Transfermarkt – to instantly start performing at such levels, though the SPFL shouldn’t be wholly sniffed at.

McGinn is a wonderful driving force through midfield and has even shown the ability to drop back from deeper positions, adding another string to his bow. If Forest can get a deal done, McGinn could seriously become the crown jewel of Aitor Karanka’s Nottingham Forest team next season.